SAP News

Face value Homo SAPiens Economist.com: "SAP and Oracle might appear outwardly similar, since both firms sell the software used by large companies to run their businesses, from inventory and resource planning to customer-relationship management. But they are very different. SAP, the industry leader, has grown organically, making only small acquisitions here and there to fill gaps. Oracle, in contrast, has grown rapidly in recent years as the result of a $19.5 billion acquisition spree, but is still far behind. And while the swashbuckling Mr Ellison is one of the software world's more colourful characters who enjoys taking potshots at his rivals, Mr Kagermann, a former physics professor, takes a more measured approach. His predecessor, Hasso Plattner, now SAP's chairman, was more in the Ellison mould, and clashes between the two men got personal. But a former colleague says Mr Kagermann prefers to see management as “dealing in shades of grey”."